Listen

"But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt."

Think

“Love your enemies.” Jesus said it plain and simple and yet it’s probably one of the hardest things to live out. Can you name a time when you loved your enemies? Someone who gossiped about you at school or got in an argument with you over something you cared about deeply? Can you name a time when you even sat down to have a conversation with them?

I read a story awhile back about a guy who set out to love his enemies and decided to spend a day hanging out with folks from a church who go around waving signs that say, “God hates you” at different events around the country. As he reflected on Jesus’ words, he was surprised to realize that his enemies, the ones he found hardest to love, were not Muslims or atheists, they were not people from a different country or a different political party, they weren’t people in a different social class. They were other Christians. So he spent the whole day with them, going to their church, eating lunch with them and then, sure enough, going out to wave signs with them (though his signs carried a very different message).

Will you love your enemies today? Enough to talk to them? How about enough to eat with them and see what their lives are really like? Jesus said it, plain and simple.

Pray

God of love, you have shown me a more perfect way; a way of love that overcomes arguments and division, a way of love that invites my enemies to the table in unity. I pray that today I might be an instrument of your love and a channel for your peace. Amen.

Go

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, just as he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love.

Ephesians 1:3-4

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Chris Hughes

Chris Hughes is a writer and minister living in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. He currently serves as interim director of youth ministries at Highland Presbyterian Church. Chris loves writing, reading, and working in the church. He also tries his best to be a hobby photographer on the side.